Misunderstandings
by IzzieKRV
Summary: What do you do when the person you love doesn't return your feelings, or at least you think they don't. Please R
1. Chapter 1

**This is a LANNIE story, so it will feature mostly them. Other people will be involved, but mostly to facilitate the story. Normally when I write, I try to include other stories involving other characters, but this time I wanted an Annie and Liam centric story that was all about them and their feelings. So if you don't like Annie and Liam together, you won't like this story, but if you do, please R&R. Thanks**

**Disclaimer: I owe absolutely Nothing**

."Ahhh, sleep, that's all I want to do" Annie Wilson moaned as she fell to the couch in her friend Naomi Clark's living room. "I feel like I haven't closed my eyes in a week" she laid her head on the cushion and felt Naomi nudge her foot aside to sit down. "Don't try to move me, just let me be"

"Oh stop being so dramatic Annie, it was just a workout" Naomi smack her foot lightly

"Just a workout? Naomi you just had your personal trainer, and by that I mean satan, put us through a three hour boot camp." She sat up and turned to face Naomi "I get it hon, you need to get your mind off Max and the divorce, and we're here for you, but this is not the way"

"She's right Naomi" Erin Silver gasped as she stumbled into the room looking behind her "oh crap, I think I lost Ade" She collapsed on the floor across from the couch. "I love you, but never again"

"I'd like to add to that" Adrianna dragged herself in and dropped down next to Annie "right after I catch my breath"

"You guys are a bunch of wimps, you know that?" Naomi rolled her eyes "a little workout and you're bitching, fine" she got up and turned to face the three of them "I won't asked my three supposed best friends to do anything for me again"

"Ok, now whose being dramatic" Annie murmured

"Really Annie?" Naomi turned to her

"Hey hey, before things get ugly, Annie why don't you tell Naomi your idea" Silver interrupted

Annie crossed her arms over her chest, leaned back against the couch and stared at Naomi with one eyebrow raised.

"Annie!" Silver called out

"Fine" Annie smirked "I **suggested**, that instead of killing ourselves with your idea of a "workout", she gestured with her hands, we take a girls trip, get out of the country for a few days and just concentrate on us. You know, celebrate our awesomeness"

"Annie, that's brilliant" Naomi clapped and ran over to give her a quick hug. "I just got a divorce from the love of my life, the love of your life is planning to run off to Australia with someone name Sydney, seriously how unoriginal can you get" she rolled her eyes and continued "Ade, yours isn't even speaking to you right now and Silver…well I don't know who the love of your life is, but you've been through so much this year, you need a break."

Annie and Silver looked at each other and shook their heads, only Naomi Clark could sum up the depressing parts of their lives in under a minute and still make it sound cheerful.

"Right" Silver said "So you guys are in? Ade, I know you have the concert coming up in a couple of weeks, but can you spare a few days?"

"Hell yes" Adrianna laughed "I am not missing out on this, so when do we leave?"

* * *

Annie was finishing her packing when Liam Court walked into her bedroom

"Are you going somewhere?" he picked up one of the books that she was about to shove into her overnight bag

"Uh, yeah, the girls and I are taking a mini vacation. Naomi is torn up about the divorce and we want cheer her up a little and just get her away from here." She was aware that Naomi wasn't the only one who needed to get away. She wanted to be as far from Liam and Sydney as possible. She had pretty much opened her heart to him in her book and he had rejected her, again. She was hoping that by the time they got back from Italy, Liam would be gone.

"How long will you be gone?" Liam asked trying not to sound overly interested. She was leaving. Well he was leaving too, but he had almost expected, no hoped that she would be here to see him off. It was selfish of him, but he wanted to spend as much time with her as he could before he left. He had been really disappointed to hear the reading of her book and realize that Annie had been using him all along for the book. He knew that the best thing to do was leave L.A. and Sydney had giving him the perfect way out.

"Maybe a week, Ade is coming and we want to be back in plenty of time for her to rehearse for the concert." Why was he just standing there staring at her, couldn't he see that this was killing her, just being in the same room with him, knowing that he didn't feel about her the way she felt about him? Dammit, she thought to herself, will it always be him? She put the last of her clothes in the suitcase before reaching for the book from him "I need to finish up, the car should be picking me up in about 30 minutes."

Liam held unto the other end of the book "I'm leaving next week"

"I know" she stopped tugging and just stood there "I um…" She wasn't sure what to say so she pulled the book out of his hand and turned her back to him "good luck Liam, I really do hope you get everything you want"

"Do you Annie? Do you really want that for me?"

The skepticism in his voice made her whip her head around to look at him "Of course I do Liam" she hadn't realized that he was moving towards her until she was looking up at him. "I've always wanted the best for you" she said softly

Taking her hand and slowly bringing it up to rest between them he looked down at her "so I guess this is goodbye then" Liam wanted to pull her into his arms and hold her until she loved him back. Despite everything that had happened, he knew that Annie would always have his heart, but you couldn't make someone love you when they didn't.

Annie wanted to cry and scream NO THIS NOT GOODBYE, THIS SHOULDN"T BE GOODBYE, DON'T GO, STAY, STAY WITH ME, but you couldn't make someone love you when they didn't. "I guess so" she whispered, knowing she would choke on the words otherwise. She turned to pick up her bag from the bed

"Annie" Liam's hand rested over hers.

She kept her head turned away from him because the tears were forming and she knew that if she looked at him now they would spill over. "I have to go Liam" she said shaking her

"Annie" he repeated a little softer, this time turning her to face him. "Why are you crying?" he brushed the tears from her face with his thumb

"Liam, please" she stared at his chest, because she knew that at that moment, she wouldn't be able to hide her feelings from him

"Look at me Annie" she shook her head

"Annie, look at me" he slipped his fingers under her chin and brought it up until her eyes met his. The look in her eyes took his breath away. She looked like he felt. "Dammit Annie" he said before pulling her to him and crushing her lips with his.

It was like coming home that was the thought that crossed Annie's mind before she lost the ability to think. This was where she belonged, where she wanted to be. Annie held on to him as he lifted her up for better access to her mouth and deepened the kiss. She heard a sound that was a cross between a moan and purr and wasn't sure if it came from her or Liam.

Liam felt Annie melt in his arms and her complete surrender made his chest tighten. This was what it felt like to live. This was what had been missing and he didn't want to let it go. He picked her up and gently laid her on the bed and stood gazing at her, giving her the chance to back out. Annie reached up to pull him down to her and neither of them spoke again as they explored each other.

* * *

Annie was startled awake by the sound of a horn blasting. She was confused for a split second before it all came rushing back to her. She and Liam had…"Oh god" she turned to look at him sound asleep next to her. They had made love and fallen asleep in each other's arms. Annie relaxed and closed her eyes, allowing herself a couple seconds of total bliss. This would be the last time she would be in his arms and she wanted to savor it. Slowly and carefully, she eased herself out of his embrace and quietly got dressed. Her phone started to ring as she pulled on her boots and she dove for it before it could wake him up. Liam had always been a heavy sleeper, but she didn't want to risk him waking up now. She knew that it was Naomi calling to tell her that they were downstairs, like she couldn't figure it out from the insistent blowing of the horn. She walked over to the other side of the bed and leaned down to gently kiss him on the forehead before picking up her bags and walking out. The thought of leaving him killed her, but she knew that what had happened between them didn't change anything. They were both over emotional and that was their way of coping with it. It seemed like she and Liam turned to each other when they were at their most vulnerable and then ended up hurting each other because they couldn't get it right. He was still leaving with Sydney in a week and she was going to start her book tour in a month, so at least that would keep her mind off him. _Yeah right._

Liam woke up reaching for Annie. He smiled to himself remembering what had happened. He couldn't believe that he had fallen asleep. He had been waiting for this for a long time, and after, instead of talking and discussing their future, he had fallen asleep. His smile widened as he realized that they had forever to talk about their future. This was only the beginning, he wasn't letting her out of this bed until they had hashed out their relationship. He knew Annie, she wouldn't have made love with him if a part of her didn't still love him, so yeah, they would work it out. When he realized that she wasn't lying next to him he got out of bed to search the house for her. He was almost to the bedroom door when he realized that her bags were gone. "Annie!" He raced down the stairs going though each room in the house. His head knew that she was gone, but he didn't want to believe it. Sinking down onto the couch in the living room, he dropped his head into his hands. She'd done it again. She'd left him. Picking up the phone he dialed her number, but it went straight to voicemail. They must have been on the plane headed to… he didn't even know where they were going. Dialing Dixon Wilson's number, Liam got up to pace the floor.

"Hey man, what's going on?"

"Do you know where Annie went?" Liam got straight to the point, he didn't want to waste time on small talk

"Nah, she just told me that she would call when they landed, but they didn't want anyone to know where they were going. Girls weekend" Dixon shook his head. He loved his sister and friends, but when they decided to do a "girls anything" he didn't ask questions because it usually ended in long conversations that he made him want to jump on his surf board and keep going. He counted himself lucky that he was with Ivy, who wasn't into long conversations about their relationship.

"Damn her" Liam spat

"What's going on?" Dixon wasn't sure what was going on with Liam and Annie these days. Annie had been sulking around and Liam wasn't much better.

"Nothing, nothing, I'll talk to you later. He hung up the phone before Dixon could ask any more questions and walked over to look out of the window. She couldn't have been clearer than if she'd spoken the words to him. She'd left without saying anything to him or leaving a way for him to find her. It was over, really over.

A week later, Liam got on a plane to Australia with Sydney. Dixon and Navid had thrown him a going away party and given him messages from Silver, Ade and Naomi.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Three Weeks Later…**_

Annie felt like crap. She had been fine after their girl's trip, but this last week, she would wake up feeling weak and nauseas. She was pretty sure that she had caught some kind of virus on the trip, but none of her friends seemed to have been affected, so she was thinking the flu. She needed to get over this because her book tour started in a week and she needed to be prepared.

"What is going on with you, girl?" Silver asked walking into Annie's bedroom. It was 10:30 in the morning and she was still in bed. That wasn't like Annie at all.

"I don't know, I've been feeling weak and tired. I think I have the flu" Annie moaned

"Have you seen a doctor?"

"I hate the hospital" She griped, "I don't want to go there if I don't have to. Besides I already know what they are going to tell me, rest, drink fluids and take something. I can do all that without going to the hospital?"

"Ok grouchy, have you eaten?"

"I tried, but it makes me want to vom…oh god" she jumped out of bed and barely made it to the bathroom before vomiting into the toilet.

Silver rushed in after her and pulled her hair back as a new round started. When she seemed to be finished, Silver helped her up to the sink to wash her mouth. "How long has this been going on?"

"The flu or the vomiting?"

"Annie, do you have a fever, a temperature?"

"I don't think so, why?"

"It's just… if I didn't know better I would think you were pregnant"

"What!" Annie's head snapped up "Of course I'm not preg…" she stopped mid sentence to stare at herself in the mirror "…nant" the last syllable came out quietly. "I can't be." Her eyes met Silver's in the mirror. "I think I need to sit down"

Helping her out to the bed, Silver was worried "Could you be pregnant?" She felt a stab of pain in her chest at the thought of her friend being pregnant. She had lost her unborn baby a couple of months before and the pain of it was still pretty raw.

"I umm… oh my gosh, I mean my period is a little late but I just chalked it up to stress, with everything that happened with Li…oh god oh god oh god. Silver what am I going to do?"

"Let's not panic yet, you lie down, I'm going to run to the store and get a couple of pregnancy tests." Silver got up to leave "And Annie, if you're pregnant we will deal with it."

Annie lay there thinking back over the last few weeks. They had returned from their trip and Liam had been gone. Although she expected it, she had cried the entire night and when she'd finally fallen asleep, she had dreamt about him. When she had woken up the next morning, she'd resolved not to pine over him. He'd left and was making a new life with someone else, so she would try her best to do the same. She hadn't told any of her friends what had happened between them, partially because she didn't want to talk about it, but mostly because she wanted to cherish it and hold the memory in her heart. She knew that some of their friends, including her brother were in constant contact with Liam, but she didn't ask about him because she didn't want to hear about how well he was doing or how happy he was. She was determined to go forward, not look backwards. Now it seemed like fate was determined to keep her in Liam's world, or Liam in her world. If she was pregnant, she knew that she would keep the baby, she would protect it and love it because it was a part of her and Liam. She wasn't sure how she would deal with the baby's father though. I guess that was a road she would have to cross if and when they got there. She knew that if she stayed in bed waiting for Silver, she would drive herself nuts with worry, so she got up to head downstairs. Her feet however had a different plan. She found her self in Liam's room. His scent was still there, it was a mixture of an earthy scent with a little bit of mint. She hadn't been in here since he'd left and when she walked past his closet, she saw that he'd left a t-shirt folded on the floor. Picking it up, she hugged it to her chest and breathed him in. "What am I going to do Liam?"

* * *

_**Australia… **_

"What am I going to do Liam?' Sydney asked as she walked into the house that they shared. When he didn't answer her she walked over to see what had him so entranced. "A new car? Really?"

"What?" Liam looked up from the page and saw Sydney standing there "What did you say?"

"I said you're really looking at a new car? You just finished the last one. You need to relax a little Liam. When was the last time you went surfing, or enjoyed a day on the beach?"

They'd been in Australia for three months now and Liam had picked up a new habit of fixing up old classic cars and re-selling them. He spent all of his time doing that and never seemed to smile anymore. Sydney knew that his heart wasn't here, but whenever she tried to bring it up, he would shut her down and change the subject. She on the other hand, loved it her and as much as she enjoyed Liam's company, she wanted him to be happy. After moving here, they hadn't even tried to pretend that they were anything more than friends. She recognized true love when she saw it, even if Liam and Annie didn't.

"It's not just a new car, this is the most amazing set of machinery ever made" he called out as she walked out of the room

"That's what you said about the last one" she grabbed two drinks out if the fridge and came back in tossing one to him and opening hers, she perched on the window seat "come on, get dressed, we are going out tonight."

"I'm not really in the mood to party Syd."

"You never are, but you are going to do me this favor and come with me tonight because I need a wingman…and" she continued before he could protest further "I am not taking no for an answer. Besides, what do you have to do tonight besides sit here and pine.?"

"I don't pine" he said with an expression that was in the same family as a pout.

"Oh, you so do" she got up to leave "we leave in a hour, be ready"

Liam contemplated not going and just telling Sydney no, but reconsidered. She had been awesome lately. They had planned this moved together as a couple and their relationship had somehow evolved into a great friendship. She understood that her was still in love with Annie, but she didn't push him about it. They had realized after their first week here that they were better off as friends. He spent his days restoring old cars and re-selling them and she spent hers doing whatever it was that she did. She was right though, a lot of the things that he used to enjoy no longer appealed to him. It was like a light had gone out and he wasn't sure how to turn it back on. She was right when she said his heart was still in L.A., but he couldn't be there. He talked to Dixon, Ivy and Navid frequently and the rest of the gang once in a while, so he knew what was going on in their lives. He hadn't spoken to Annie since he'd left, but he knew that she was on her book tour in Europe. He'd been tempted to ask Dixon exactly where she was a few times and then hop a plane to see her, but had resisted the urge. He missed her, hell he missed all of his friends. Hanging with the guys, listening to Naomi go on and on about something, watching Ade blossom into a great artist, talking to Silver. He missed it all, but he MISSED HER. Seeing her everyday, even when they weren't together, finding her underwear hanging in his bathroom, because she'd run out of space in hers. It wasn't just the big things, but the little ones also. He sat there for a couple more minutes before realizing that he only had about 20mins to shower and get dressed.

* * *

"Wait, is that a smile I see on your face" Sydney laughed coming up to Liam. They had been at the party for a couple of hours now and he actually seemed to be having a good time"

"Haha, yes it is, so thank you for dragging me out here, although you really didn't need me"

"What are friends for right?" she turned to order a drink when one of the girls she's met earlier that evening came up to them.

"You guys are from Beverly Hills right?" she asked them both

"Born and bred" Liam smiled

"I just read the most amazing book by an author from there. Its called Undressed and she like based it off her life" oblivious to the fact that Liam had stiffened at her words, the girl continued "I mean, I don't know if I could bare it all to the world like that, but kudos to this chick. I really hope she extends her tour to include us."

Sydney saw the color drain out of Liam's face from of the corner of her eye. "Umm, yeah, it was a good book" she grabbed Liam's hand and started to pull him away "We should discuss it later. See ya" she called over her shoulder as they pushed their way through the crowd. The ride home was silent because she wasn't sure what to say and he didn't want to talk. When they walked in the house knew she had to bring it up and make him face the truth.

"Why did you come here Liam?" Sydney turned on him when he closed the door.

"What?" he seemed taken aback by the question

"Why are you here? Seriously, you should be back in L.A. with Annie"

"Annie doesn't love me Sydney, and after everything I put her through I can't really blame her. She deserves better than me and she knows it" he went to sit on the couch

"Does she?" She sat next to him and took his hands "Liam, did you ever read Annie's book?"

"I started it, but I couldn't bring myself to finish it. I mean knowing how she feels about me is one thing, but seeing the proof written in her words is just too much. I don't know, I guess not seeing it gives me hope that there is still a chance that we could somehow make it work, but if I read it, then that hope is gone and so is Annie"

"Well, I think that you should read it, all of it" She pulled the book out of her purse, where she had been carrying it for days. Standing up to leave him, she smiled sadly "and Liam, I completely understand, if I had what you did, I wouldn't waste another second" she leaned down and kissed him on the cheek.

Liam sat there for a long time with the book in his hand without opening it. After running through all of the reasons why he shouldn't read the book, he opened it and started reading. By the time he finished reading, it was light outside and the apartment was eerily quiet. He was still in awe from reading her words. The words that she had use to express her love for him. She loved him. She still loved him and she had tried to tell him but he had been too blind to see it.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Paris France…**_

She was three months into her book tour and Annie was tired. Normally, she would be enjoying this and thriving on the success of her book, but she was homesick. She was pretty sure that it had everything to do with the fact that she was pregnant and craving her own things. The hotels that they were staying in were great, but they weren't home. She still had another two weeks on the tour, so she would just have to suck it up. She wasn't completely alone though because Silver was traveling with her and although Naomi and Jordan (whom Naomi had met and instantly hit it off with and was now dating) were doing their own thing, also in Europe for the moment, they all saw each other once in a while, especially since Jordan was her publisher. Silver was the only one who knew she was pregnant and she hadn't even told her who the father was. She didn't want to put her in the position to have to lie and also wasn't ready to tell anyone yet. It seemed wrong somehow to tell other people that Liam was going to be a dad before telling him. Although she still hadn't worked out that part yet. She had only recently begun to show and it was such a small bump that no one noticed. She felt awful not telling Dixon or her mom, but she'd planned to do so when she got home. She also knew that she had to make a decision by then about Liam.

"Two more weeks to go, how are you feeling?" Silver asked as they walked back to the hotel. She knew that Annie was getting restless and in a way, so was she. She had dropped everything at home to travel with Annie when they had found out that she was pregnant. Silver knew that Annie could take care of herself, but ever since she'd lost her baby, she had been a little paranoid. Besides being the only one of their friends and family to know about the pregnancy, Silver also felt like she knew what Annie was going through. Although she hadn't carried her child herself, she'd still felt that connection. She knew she was being a bit overprotective, but she wanted to make sure that Annie was ok. She hadn't pressed her about the baby's father, but she had a suspicion that it was Liam. Every time someone mentioned Liam, although she wasn't aware of it, Annie's hand would go to her stomach.

"I'm so ready to go home, sleep in my own bed, play my music as loud as I want" Annie laughed "You know Silver, I never thought that I would be on a promotional tour in _Europe_ and actually miss L.A."

"Maybe it's not just L.A. that you are missing" Silver very rarely brought up Liam to Annie since he'd left, but if she was right and he was the baby's father, then she would try to get Annie to tell him. It seemed like everyone could see that those two belonged together except them. Whenever she spoke to Liam, he sounded miserable, almost as bad as Annie did when she tried not to ask about Liam.

Annie glanced at Silver out of the corner of her eye. "You're talking about Liam, and you're right, I miss him, but it is what it is. You can't go back and he's moved forward. I'm having a baby and I have to put my baby first. I can't dwell on it Silver."

"Have you ever thought that maybe he would like to know that you are carrying his baby?" she took a chance

Annie stopped suddenly and almost tripped over her feet. "What? How did you…I didn't tell" she couldn't finish the thought

"Honey, it's pretty obvious, at least it is to me"

"Oh crap, Silver" Annie was actually a little relieved that Silver had guessed. "What am I going to do?"

She seemed so dejected that Silver decided to drop the subject for the time being. "Well, right now we are going to have dinner and prep for tomorrow. You will figure out what to do about Liam when we get home. You have time".

* * *

It had taken Liam a week to pack his things and arrange for his return to L.A. He'd been back for a week now and was settling in. He knew that Annie would be back in a couple days from her tour and had contemplated just moving back into their place (interesting how he'd still thought of it as their place), but rejected the idea because he didn't want jinx his plan. So he'd called Navid instead and was crashing at his place until he figured things out. He wanted to sit on her doorstep until she came home and then pronounce his love for her, but he wasn't sure that she would believe him. How many times had he told her he loved her, only to walk away? He knew Annie well enough to know that she would question what was different this time. So instead, he planned to show her. Show her that he was here to stay and that there was nothing she could do to get rid of him. He'd already talked to Dixon about managing his old bar, which he had sold to Annie before he left. Dixon had taken over the bar because of Annie's tour, but he had to hire a temporary manager because he was too busy with his music. It worked out perfectly because Liam knew what it took to run the bar and Dixon trusted him to do it. He'd only been back at the bar for a couple of days now but man did it feel good to stand there. It was part of what made L.A. home and he was damn happy to be back.

"Hey man, what are you smiling about" Dixon slapped Liam on the back. He'd walked in to see Liam standing there staring off into space with a goofy grin on his face. He was really glad that his friend was back but was also a little worried about his sister. Annie had been crushed when Liam left and was starting to come back to herself. He knew there was something wrong with her, but she wasn't ready to tell him and he didn't want to push it. He figured it had something to do with the guy standing in front of him now, but he thought that the tour was exactly what she needed to get her mind off her issues. He could still hear a little strain in her voice when they talked, but for the most part, she sounded ok. Now Liam was back and Annie would be also in a couple of days. He hadn't gotten a chance to tell her about Liam managing the bar because he hadn't been able to reach her the last few days. He was just crossing his fingers that he hadn't made the wrong decision.

"What? Oh, I'm just really glad to be back" his grin got even wider "you know"

"Uh sure" Dixon hadn't asked too many questions when Liam had popped back into town, but he was curious. "Don't take this the wrong way, because I'm glad you're back, but why are you back?"

"The truth?" Liam wanted to be honest with Dixon. He walked over to the bar and pulled out one of the stools gesturing for Dixon to take the other. "I miss this place. Not the bar itself, he looked around "but L.A. I missed you guys, you know, you're my family and Australia didn't feel right." He sighed and looked back at Dixon "Thing is though, I could deal with that, I could live with missing you guys, but I had to come back for her" he said simply

Dixon knew the "Her" was Annie. "So you plan on sticking around this time?" He didn't normally interfere with Annie's love life, but he wanted his sister to be happy and despite his flaws, Liam made her happy.

"I'm not going anywhere, not without Annie anyway"

"Ok" Dixon stood up to walk around the bar "Good luck" He poured two shots of bourbon and handed Liam one. "But if you hurt her, you deal with me" he smiled before drowning the shot.

* * *

"Oh my god, it is great to be home" Annie practically waltzed into the house with Silver at her heels. They had gotten back a couple of days ahead of schedule and although she should be feeling tired right now, she felt more energy than she had in a while.

"Come on" she said dropping her bags on the living room floor "lets shower, change and go to the bar, I want to surprise Dixon. I haven't talked to him in over a week and I know he wasn't expecting us for another couple of days."

"Sounds good to me" Silver started up the stairs, "I could use a drink in a familiar place."

When they got to the bar, the place was even more crowded than usual. "What the hell is going on?"

"I guess the new manager that Dixon hired is kicking ass" Silver shrugged as they made their way through the crowd, looking for familiar faces.

"Yeah, I guess so" Annie yelled, spotting her brother sitting at the bar with Ivy on his lap. Slipping behind him, she hugged his shoulders and yelled, "I leave you alone for 3 months and you turn this place into an even bigger success?"

Turning his head to see his sister standing over his shoulders, Dixon set Ivy aside and turned to hug her "You're back!"

"Yeah, we were getting homesick"

"Seems like that's going around a lot"

"What?"

"Nothing" Dixon held her back to look at her again. "I'm just glad you're back"

"Well, it looks like I'm not needed, if this place was any more packed, we'd be fire marshaled."

"Don't look at me" Dixon grinned "It's all due to our new manager" he sent her a nervous look

"Well, great job on the hiring then can't wait to meet them" she spun around to ask Silver something when she noticed her starring towards the kitchen door with a look that was a cross between shock and surprise.

"What?" she turned to see what had Silver speechless and almost stumbled forward when she saw Liam standing in the door way talking to Adriana. For a second, she let the joy of seeing him after all these months resister. He looked… she wasn't sure, but there was something different about him, almost like he was settled. That thought snapped her back to reality because if he was settled and content, then it was due to Sydney. She looked back at Silver, then Liam, then she snapped her head to see Dixon looking at her with a wary look on his face.

"Now Annie…" he started

"Liam!" she mouthed, putting two and two together. "Liam, seriously Dixon, this is a joke right? What is he even doing here?" She turned back around to see if Sydney was around somewhere.

"Maybe its better if it comes from him" Dixon started but Annie was no longer paying attention to him. Her eyes had locked on Liam's and it seemed like the music had stopped and they were the only two people in the room.

Liam had been talking to Ade, when he'd felt her presence. He wasn't sure how, but he'd known she was here. He attributed it to his Annie radar. He'd looked up to see her talking to Dixon, her back turned to him. He'd stopped hearing what Ade was saying and had simply taken her in. Then she'd turned and looked at him. It felt like someone had sucked all of the air out of the room and all he could see was her.

It couldn't have been more than a few seconds, but it felt like a lifetime and Annie was trying to regain her senses when Liam started to make his way towards them. Her hand subconsciously went to her stomach. She was having his baby, and he was here and she hadn't even decided what to do about him yet. Oh no, she couldn't face him right now, she panicked and turned to Silver "I need to get out of here" she said with a desperate look on her face. When she saw Silver hesitate she pleaded "Please"

"Ok" Silver wasn't sure what to do, but she didn't want Annie stressing out so she stood up, sent Liam an apologetic smile and started to make her way out of the club with Annie on her heel. By the time they'd made their way back to the car, Annie had calmed down a little. "What the hell is he doing back?"

"I don't know" Silver pulled out of the parking lot "but maybe we would have found out if you hadn't runaway"

"I didn't runaway, I just got away" Annie pouted "Seriously Silver, I haven't made a decision yet about telling him"

"Well, I think that decisions is kinda out of your hands now Annie, especially if he's back for good"

"What am I going to do?"

"Honey, I know you and Liam have your problems, but he deserves to know. After the way his dad left him, he wouldn't want his child growing up without him in their life"

"Trust me Silver, I know. That's what makes this so hard. I'd love nothing more than to run to him and tell him that we are having a child together" she smiled sadly " But I know Liam, he will feel obligated to stay and be a part of this child's life and he's finally seems to be happy. I don't want to screw that up for him."

"Shouldn't that should be his decision?"

She knew Silver was right. While on tour, she had been able to put it off but now she was home and apparently so was Liam. Maybe this was the universe's way of telling her to do what she'd known she'd have to do anyway. "Well at least this won't be an awkward phone conversation"

"Nope, just an awkward face-to-face one" Silver joked trying to lighten the mood

"Where did she go?" Liam reached the spot she had been standing only a few minutes ago, only to see Annie disappear out of the door.

"I don't know man, she was standing her one second and then she her muttered something about having to go and they left. Sorry"

"She's back early"

"Yeah, said she missed home"

"Was that Annie and Silver?" Adrianna came up to them

"Yeah"

"I didn't know they were back. I wonder why they didn't call?" She said to herself "Excuse me guys, I've gotta go. Liam, I'm really glad you are back" She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek.

Adriana pulled up to Annie's place about 10 minutes after they did. Using the key Annie had given her before leaving for Europe, she marched into the house and following the sound of voices, into the kitchen. "When did you guys get back, and why didn't you call me?" She started before she noticed her two friends sitting at the table still dressed in their clothes from earlier, but with their shoes kicked off to the side and their feet up on the kitchen stools, each with a carton of ice cream in front of them. "Oh no honey" she hurried over to hug Annie. "I knew Liam coming back would upset you, but this is serious" She threw Silver a _what are you doing look. _"Silver, you are not suppose to encourage this behavior"

"I'm pregnant" Annie blurted out before shoving another spoon of rocky road in her mouth "with Liam's baby"

Ade looked at Silver who nodded slightly "Well, shit then" She slumped back in the seat "Got another spoon?"


	4. Chapter 4

Annie woke up the next morning in a slightly better mood than the night before. Sliver and Adriana had spent the night and she'd filled Ade in on her pregnancy. She hadn't meant to tell Adriana last night, but she'd been feeling vulnerable and it had just come out. Ade had told them that Liam was back for good. Apparently Australia hadn't worked out for him and neither had Sydney. She knew that it was awful of her to be happy that Liam's relationship hadn't worked out but she was. She thought that this would make it a little easier to tell him about the baby because he wasn't tied down to anyone else. Even if they weren't together, at least he would be around to be a part of the baby's life if he chose to. She looked at the clocked and realized that she was running late. After the girls had left to go home, she had called Dixon to meet for lunch because she wanted to catch up with him.

"You're not going to disappear on me again if I hug you are you?" Dixon asked coming up behind Annie, who was already seated at an outside table of the bistro they'd agreed to meet at.

"Dixon" She jumped out of her chair to hug him "Sorry about last night, I was a little overwhelmed"

"Yeah, sorry I didn't get a chance to warn you about Liam, he kinda showed up and wanted the job and I was looking so…"

"Its fine, I mean, technically it's his bar anyway"

"Your name on the deed says otherwise"

"Yeah well, we'll figure something out, but let's not talk about Liam or the bar, I want to hear all about the label. Dixon had been working on starting his own music label.

"Ok, but first I want to talk about what's going on with you?"

Annie didn't try to pretend like she didn't understand what he meant "I want to tell you Dix, but there is someone else I need to talk to first"

"Are you in trouble?"

"No, I just have a lot to think about" She covered his hand with hers for a second, "But I love you for caring. Now quit stalling and talk"

Liam woke up that morning with a purpose. He was going to see Annie and she was going to listen to what he had to say. She'd run from him last night and he couldn't really blame her because she'd had no warning that he was back, but it had thrown him a bit because the Annie Wilson that he knew didn't run from anything. He'd almost looked forward to her marching up to him and demanding to know what the hell he was doing back and in her bar. He could picture her eyes flashing while her hands were flying all over the place. He'd pictured several scenarios with them seeing each other again for the first and none of them included her running. He hadn't gone after her last night partially because he'd been confused and Dixon had told him to give her time.

After stopping by the bar to check on some things, he headed to her place. Her car wasn't in the driveway, but he knew that she sometimes let one of their friends borrow it, so he got out and knocked on the door. After a few minutes with no answer, he considered using his key to let himself in and wait for her, but he didn't want to give her anymore reasons to be mad at him, so he decided to leave her a message instead. He was pulling out is phone to call her, when he saw the text come through from her.

_**Hi Liam, I need to talk to you, please let me know when you are available and I will come find you. Tnx. **_ Sighing with relief, he responded

_**L - I'm actually at your place now. I wanted to talk to you too, so I'll just wait here**_

_**A – Ok, should be there in about 20 mins**_

Liam sat on the stairs and tried to figure out what she wanted to talk to him about. Her text had been so formal and not Annie-like. He wondered if she was going to tell him the same thing he was going to tell her.

Annie was anxious as she pulled into the driveway to see Liam sitting on there. She'd been racking her brains trying to figure out what he had to say to her. The fact that he was already at her place when she'd texted him made her nervous. Did he already know? That would make it a little easier, but how could he? Silver or Ade wouldn't have told him. It must be something else and that made her even more nervous. She got out of her car slowly trying to prolong the moment when she would come face-to-face with him.

He stood up as she approached, trying not to look too nervous. "Hi" he reached down to take the shopping bags out of her hands so that she could pull out the keys.

"Hey" was all she could get out at the moment. Walking into the house, she led the way to the kitchen, where they started to put away the groceries silently. Neither of them realized what they were doing until they both reached for the fridge handle at the same time.

"Umm, you go ahead" Annie stepped back to let him open the door

"I guess old habits die hard huh?" Liam finished putting the last of it away and turned to face her.

"So" they both began

"Uh, you go first" Liam said coming to stand on the other side of the table

"Um…okay" She wrung her hands nervously. "Do you want something to drink?" she walked over the fridge and opened it, than closed it again, walking to the cupboard.

He could see that she was tense, tense and stalling. Whatever she had to tell him was making her edgy. Before she could offer him another drink, he walked over to her and pulled her into the living room to the couch. "Whatever it is Annie, just tell me" He sat next to her, leaving enough room between them so they weren't touching.

"Before I do, are you back for good?" Ade had told her he was, but she wanted to hear it from him.

"Yeah, I missed L.A. and it took going away to realize that this is where I want to be. Sydney and I realized that we were better off as friends then anything else, so there was really nothing left there for me" He wanted her to know that him and Syd were no longer involved.

"I'm sorry about you and Sydney"

"Some things aren't meant to be" he looked at her intensely

Annie wasn't sure she wanted to interpret the look in his eyes "I guess not." They sat their silently reflecting on their words.

"So what did you want to talk about?" Liam shook himself out of his thoughts and turned back to her. She was back to wringing her hands, so her took them in his.

Looking down at their joined hands, Annie started "You have to believe me Liam, I didn't mean for this to happen, after I found out, I wasn't even sure how to tell you, you being in Australia, me being here, I wasn't even sure if I should tell you, but now you're here and you need to know" She knew she was babbling, so she stopped and took a deep breath and looked back up at him "I'm pregnant" she said quietly.

"What?" he wasn't sure he'd heard her correctly

"I'm pregnant, thirteen weeks" she bit her lip anxiously

"You're pregnant" He didn't even question whether or not he was the father. "The night before I left..." he stated and she nodded "and now you're, **we** are pregnant" He leaned back against the couch and closed his eyes. Of all of the things he'd though she wanted to tell him, this was definitely not one of them. "This is amazing" he said to himself

"It is?" Annie wasn't sure how to respond. He didn't seem angry or sad, in fact he almost seemed happy. "You really think this is amazing?" she shook her head and stood up to pace the floor "Here I thought you were going to be upset or angry. I mean you do realize that this is going to change our lives right?" She walked over to the window and stood starring out of it.

When she'd started talking, he'd sat up on the couch to watch her pace but now he jumped up and hurried over to the window "You really thought that I'd be angry? Why would I be angry about this?"

"Because" she exclaimed "you'd started a new life somewhere else and all this was going to do was drag you back here. Even now, I'm springing this on you. I don't want the baby to be a burden on you."

"Annie, you didn't plan this either but it's happening and we are going to deal with it, together." He took her hands again and turned her to face him. "I love you Annie," he said quietly drawing her into his arms and kissing her forehead. He hadn't meant to say it, but the moment seemed to call for it and regardless of the timing, he was glad that he had.

"Don't" she whispered, "Please don't Liam" she rested her forehead against his for a second before pulling away from him and crossing them room, trying to put as much distance between them as she could.

"Why not Annie?" He didn't attempt to follow her

"Because!" she yelled, then repeated in a quieter voice "because, you don't mean it. This is what I didn't want Liam, for you to feel obligated to the baby or me. If you want to be a part of the baby's life we can do that without being involved with each other"

"If I _want_ to be…of course I want to be a part of his or her life Annie, but what does that have to do with me being in love with you?"

"You're just saying it because you want this child to grow up with two parents who are together because you didn't have that. I'm trying to tell you that we can love the baby just as much whether or we are together." She was babbling again

He walked over to her and took her face in his hand "I love you. I fell in love with you a long time ago and haven't stopped loving you since. No one can frustrate me, or exhilarate me the way you do. No one has ever touched me here" he placed her hand over his heart "or made me feel the way you have. I love you Annie, don't ask me not to tell you"

"You can't" she shook her head, "You left me, I told you how I felt and you left." She cried

"I left, because I didn't think that loved me, I started to read the book and when I realized I was in it, I thought you had used me, and I couldn't deal with that. I couldn't be near you knowing that you had been using me for your book all along." he ran his fingers through his hair in frustration "I didn't read the entire book until I was in Australia and when I realized what you had been trying to tell me, I packed my things and came home."

Annie felt hope begin to rise in her, but was still cautious. "I want to believe you Liam, I do, but I can't get hurt again. What if it doesn't work, what if you realize that you don't want to be tied down and you take off again, I can't put the baby through that."

"Do you know what my first thought was when you told me about the baby?" He continued when she shook her head, "I thought, yes, now she can't get rid of me too easily if she's carrying my child. I know, it's a little crazy, but I want to be tied to you Annie, I want the forever and happily ever after and all the other stuff the books talk about" He could see that she was softening. "Dixon asked me what my intentions were when I came back and I told him it was to win you back"

"You did?"

"I did" he drew her into his arms, picked her up and carried her over to the couch, sitting down with her in his lap.

She slipped one arm around his shoulder and caressed his cheek with her other hand. "I love you" He'd known it, but hearing the words from her lips exhilarated him.

"We've both been really blind haven't we, all the time we've wasted…"

"Let's not waste anymore" she leaned forward until her lips met his.


	5. Epilogue

_Later that night… _

Annie and Liam lay in her bed wrapped around each other, with his hand gently resting on her stomach. "I can't believe there is a tiny person growing in there right now" he leaned down to kiss it, "Hi sweetheart, it's your daddy. Your mommy and I are so excited to meet you"

Annie smiled and ran her fingers through his hair. She'd always known that Liam could be loving, but she had never seen him so tender. "I think you're going to be a great dad"

"I'm gonna be a dad" he grinned "Oh my god, we have to tell the guys, we should invite them over and just tell them all at once."

"Well" she smiled sheepishly, "Silver and Ade already knows. Silver was the only person I told about the pregnancy, well she kind of pointed it out to me, but she also guessed that you were the father and I kind of blurted it out to Ade last night"

"Well, that's two less people to worry about" He kissed her

"Oh man, what is Dixon going to say?" Annie moaned

"Hopefully he will give us his blessing when we tell him we are getting married" he smirked at the look on her face and reached behind him to pull a little box out of his pants pocket on the floor. Turning back to her, he laid the box over her heart. "Marry me Annie"

"You just happen to have that with you?" she laughed, tears streaming down her face.

"I've been carrying this with me for over a week now" He opened the box and pulled out an antique gold ring with a pearl in the middle.

"It's beautiful" she turned to face him "Yes, yes yes yes yes yes, a thousand times yes. She squealed, laughing and raining kisses all over his face.

Her phone rang and she picked it up still laughing "Hello"

"Hey" she heard Silver's voice. "Ade and I were wondering if you needed us to come over tonight just to talk.

"Umm… I'm ok" she started

"Who is it?" Liam asked

"Wait, is that Liam I just heard?" Silver looked over at Ade and mouthed Liam.

"Yes it is"

"So you told him?

"Yes I did"

"And…"

"And, we are getting married" she smiled over at him. "Can you guys come over for dinner tomorrow? We will tell you everything."

"Hell yes" Silver beamed at Adriana

"And Silver, thanks for everything" Annie said before hanging up.

"I think we should turn off our phones for the rest of the night" Liam said pulling her back to him

"I think you're right".


End file.
